It's been almost a week! Sorry!
Okay, I have slightly bad news for all the people who read this story.
I start college on monday, this means I won't have too much time to write chapters. HOWEVER I'm not leaving this story or anything, and I assure you I already have all important plot points of the remaining chapters written, meaning that I already know what's supposed to happen, I just need to write it.
So, I won't leave this story unfinished because I don't know how to keep going.
I won't leave this story unfinished, period.
I wanted to clarify that.
In other news, thanks to kytpu3426 for the follow and favorite! And thanks to readingaddict24 for reviewing again, and if you want to leave any kind of advice on how I could improve my chapters, it's more than welcome!
"Mom, this is horrible." Cassandra said, her face scrunched up in displeasure.
"It's not horrible." Her mother replied, her head tilted to the side.
"It is horrible." Severus confirmed, moving to stand behind his wife.
In front of the three, a bright violet gown was hanging on Cassandra's bedroom door. It had two silver lines on the bottom, with the school emblem (a black cat's silhouette) embroidered on the right.
"Zip it, it's so bright I'm gonna go blind." Juliana rolled her eyes and closed the bag the gown was in.
"I could wear the bag instead." Cassandra suggested and her mother directed a cold look at her. "Okay, it was just a suggestion." Severus laughed quietly behind her.
"It's just a few hours, Cass." Juliana said, exiting the bedroom, Cassandra and Severus behind her. "You get to wear whatever you want underneath."
"Whatever I want?" She smiled mischievously. "I'll wear nothing, then." This time Severus looked at her coldly. "FINE! I'll stop with the suggestions!" She said, exasperated.
"What time is it, though? Fred and George are supposed to be here at noon." Cassandra asked, excitement on her voice. Severus looked at his watch.
"Noon." He replied and a second later they heard two loud thuds coming from the backyard, followed by a series of groans. "Right on time." He said as Cassandra ran to greet them.
"Be nice." Juliana warned him, kissing his cheek. He grabbed her waist and pulled her closer.
"I'm always nice." He replied, a smirk on his face, before kissing her deeply.
"Hey!" Cassie exclaimed as she walked to the twins, that were beginning to get up. They dusted themselves off and she hugged them at the same time.
"How are you preparing for the big day?" George teased. She huffed.
"Don't remind me. Wait till you see what I have to wear." She cringed. "Come inside, are you hungry? I haven't had lunch yet, maybe we can go somewhere and I can show you around!" She said, smiling.
She grabbed both of their hands and dragged them to the door. Once they entered, the imposing figure of Severus Snape, serious as always, greeted them. Granted, he was still dressed in dark clothing, but he was wearing a shirt with the sleeves rolled up and he had no robes that made him look like darkness itself was coming behind him.
Next to him, Juliana was standing with a smile. They contrast between both of them was so intense that Fred and George couldn't take their eyes away from the scene.
"Hello boys," Juliana said brightly and Severus merely nodded. "How have you been?"
"Fine, thank you." They both replied shyly.
"Don't bother to try and diffuse the tension mom. We're already leaving. I'll be right back." She said to the twins and started to walk to the stairs, but stopped mid-step and turned around. "You know what, better come with me." She said, looking at her father with suspicion. The twins let out relieved sighs and followed her upstairs.
"They're so scared of you!" Juliana said to Severus, laughing and scolding him at the same time.
"I didn't say anything." He retorted, crossing his arms.
"You don't have to! You have this whole dark, dangerous..." she said and her mind started to drift away "sexy demeanor... God, it's so hot in here." She said, flustered. He smiled and pulled her close.
"Sexy, huh?" He asked, smirking. She rolled her eyes but moved her arms to circle his waist. He leaned in until his lips were almost touching hers.
"The kids could catch us," she whispered, huskily.
"Thrilling, isn't it?" He asked in the same tone before closing the distance between them and kissing her thoroughly.
"What is this?" Fred asked, pointing at Cassandra's desk. "Looks like a telly."
"It's a computer." She answered as she put her sneakers on. "Um... it can be used as a way of communicating, you can search stuff..." She tried to explain simply. He just raised his eyebrows but didn't ask anything else.
"Hey, that's us!" George said with a smile, pointing at a framed picture on her wall. It had been taken the last time she had visited them. Cassie smiled and Fred moved to take a look at it. When he saw it, he smiled too. He then moved to her door, where the gown was carefully kept. He opened the zip and smiled.
"This is amazing!" He told her, laughing. George looked at it and raised his eyebrows before he started laughing too.
"It's not! It's horrible!" She yelled, mortified.
"This is one of the most beautiful pieces of clothing I've ever laid my eyes upon." Fred said, dramatically.
"Ha. Close it." She said and he did, a smile still on his face.
George moved now to her bookcase. He started touching the spines of the books, a frown on his face.
"Peter Pan..." He started to read out loud. "Frankenstein, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Dracula, Romeo and Juliet, J. R. R. Tolkien, no, wait, that was the author. Are all these muggle books?" He asked, looking at her. She nodded. "What are they about?" He asked, pulling her copy of Frankenstein and skimming through the pages.
"They all have a short summary on the back." She answered and he turned it around. He raised an eyebrow, interested.
"Can I borrow it?" He asked and she smiled, surprised.
"Sure. Take as many as you like. Okay, ready to go?" She asked, and they nodded.
"Where's Rocko?" George asked as they left the house by the front door.
"He was taking a nap on the living room just before you arrived, I guess he's still there." He looked disappointed. "You'll get to see him later. Now, follow me, I'm starving."
They made her way to a small dining room in the center of the town, while Cassandra told them stories about every place they walked by. Once they got there, she motioned them to go sit on a table and walked to the counter.
A girl about her age greeted her happily, and she leaned over the counter to say something on her ear. The girl's eyes widened instantly and she looked to where Fred and George were. She blushed when she saw they were looking too and averted her eyes immediately. Cassie laughed out loud and walked to the table.
"What did you say to her?" George asked, curious.
"Nothing important." She vaguely answered, a smile on her lips. She took one of the menus that were on the table and they did the same. "I'm just gonna have a hamburger and fries with a coke, don't know about you." She said without looking up.
"The same." They answered at the same time.
"Okay." She said as the girl from the counter approached them, a small notebook and pen on her hands, and her face completely red.
"Have you decided what are you going to eat?" She asked shyly.
"The usual. For the three." Cassandra answered. "This is Amy, guys." She introduced the girl, who blushed even more if that was possible. "She goes to school with me. Amy, These are Fred," she said pointing at the twin on the left, "and George."
"Pleased to meet you." They said at the same time.
"Oh my God, you really do the thing." She whispered, amazed, and Cassie bit her lip to control her laughter.
"Sorry?" George asked.
"Nothing." She said quickly. "I'll bring your orders soon." She said and left as fast as humanly possible without running.
"What are you laughing at?" Fred asked her with a frown. She put her palm on her cheek to avoid looking suspicious. Of course, it only made it worse.
"Laughing? Who's laughing?" She asked fast, resisting the urge with so much difficulty that her face now contorted in pain.
"What did you say to her?" They asked at the same time, their eyes narrowed.
By now she was covering her mouth with her hand and was shaking badly, her eyes burning with unshed tears. She tried to compose herself, but a smile was still etched on her face when she finally did.
"Today? I only told her you were Fred and George. Before that... well, that's another story." She said mischievously.
Amy returned with three plates and three drinks on a tray.
"Here you go." She said, placing the food in front of them. "Enjoy." She said with a smile and turned to leave, when a voice stopped.
"Hey, Amy..." George said, slowly. She turned with her eyes opened wide.
"Huh?" She managed to say, her voice high pitched.
"What has Cassie told you about us?" He asked, looking at her on the eyes. One more time, Amy blushed madly.
"Nothing." She answered way too fast. "I have to work, enjoyyourfoodbye." She said and disappeared inside the kitchen.
"Look at you, you just spoke and she's already traumatized!" Fred said, teasing. He looked at Cassandra. "Really, why is she acting like that?"
Cassandra ate her burger calmly without giving them a response. They rolled their eyes and started eating too. Once she was finished, she finally spoke.
"Remember all those joke items I sent you for Christmas, and the book?" They nodded, failing to see what that had to do with anything. "Well, Amy's father is the owner of the shop where I got it from." They both opened their eyes and raised their eyebrows at this. "He opened it 20 years ago. Amy grew up there, and she developed an unconditional love for pranks and jokes. Just like her father. So, guess what. When I found out, I told her all about these friends I had that also loved pranking! She thought it was cool, but really didn't care too much at first. Until." She said and stopped talking.
"Until what!" They both yelled. She smiled.
"Well, her dad is a wizard but... he always felt more attracted to muggle pranks rather than wizard pranks. That's not her case. You know, she even travelled to Scotland five times only to visit Zonko's. She is obsessed with the making and building part of it." They leaned back, surprised at this new information. "So, she is pretty aware of all the news of the magical pranking business and stuff. Which means that the fact that this amazing new shop called Weasley Wizard Wheezes opened in London didn't go unnoticed. So she comes to me, asking me the names of those friends I had that loved pranks. I wish you could've seen her face when I told her. It was so pale, you could've seen through it. So, I tell her: You know Amy, once they come and visit, I will introduce you to them. She didn't believe me. And then, today happened."
"Bloody hell." George said. "What you're trying to say is, she's a fan?" Cassandra nodded.
"Basically, yeah." Cassie rolled her eyes playfully at the smug expressions that appeared on their faces.
"Like you're surprised. You've seen how much people love your shop." She said.
"I mean, yeah..." George began. "But... it's not the same. They like the products, they don't put much thought on the people who made them or how they did... This is different... surprising. That's all." George replied, scratching the back of his neck thoughtfully.
"I suppose that makes sense." She reasoned with a nod. She turned her head back and laughed quietly. Amy was peering through the door, only her eyes visible. When she caught her eye, she disappeared. "She's so excited." She told them with a smile. Suddenly, her face brightened with a newfound idea. "Oh God, I know what we're doing next! We are going to her dad's shop! Her shifts ends in..." she looked at her watch "half an hour. She helps him when she gets out of here. Oh my God! She's gonna freak out."
"I don't know if you're doing this because you're nice or because you like to see the girl getting embarrassed." Fred teased with a smile. She made a face at him and then shrugged her shoulders.
"Bit of both."
A big sign that read JACKSON'S JOKING EMPORIUM was hanging above a large wooden door with glass windows.
Several products were displayed on the window, ranging from small prank items to elaborated costumes.
"Wow." The twins said at the same time.
"Is it open?" George asked, impatient. Cassandra pointed at a small poster on the glass. Open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
"Come on." She said and opened the door, a bell similar to theirs signaling that it had been opened.
She shop was empty at the moment, something that would only happen on hours like this one. The twins marvelled at the enormity of the place, and amount of the things it had. Their minds were running wildly, creating, imagining, thinking of how this or that product could be transformed into something else.
They heard footsteps and a man about 50 years old appeared from the back of the shop, a box on his hands.
"Jack!" Cassandra greeted him and walked to hug him. "How've you been?"
"Everything's going great!" He answered cheerfully. His eyes landed on Fred and George and his his widened. "Are they...?" He asked and she nodded, excitedly. He walked to them and shook both of their hands with great enthusiasm. "I cannot believe it! Fred and George Weasley on MY shop!" He said, laughing. They just stood there, not knowing what to do. "I must take record this moment." He said seriously, clasping his hands. "Cassandra, would you take us a picture? If they don't mind, of course." He said to them. They shook their heads, still quiet.
Cassie was biting her lip to avoid laughing out loud. She picked up the camera from a shelf and motioned them to get together. Jack situated himself in the middle, a bright smile on his face. The twins were silent, their faces void of emotions.
"Smile a bit, will you?" She said, rolling her eyes. They snapped out of their trance and smiled, the picture coming out perfect.
"Ohhhh..." Jack said excitedly turning to look at them. "This one's going to the wall!"
"Um, sir..." Fred asked, frowning. "Not to sound rude or anything but... how do you know about us?"
"How do I..." He began to say, almost insulted. "How could I not! It's not everyday when two teenagers open one of the greatest joke shops in the world! And with original products, NO LESS! It is such an honour to have you both on my shop today." They were taken aback by his words, but quickly recomposed themselves.
"No, Sir, thank you. Your shop is absolutely amazing." George said, walking forward to keep looking. "When Cassie sent us those items and the book..." he frowned for a second. "Sorry, what was your name again?" He asked and Jack smirked.
"Jackson Jackson. I think it's a great name, don't you?" Cassandra answered for him, mirroring his smile.
"Jackson Jackson as in the writer of The Guide for The Practical Prankster?" Fred asked, his voice high pitched and his eyes opened wide. Jack bowed dramatically.
"The one and only." He answered and the twins opened and closed their mouths, not knowing what to say.
"That book..." George began.
"Has helped us so much while making products..." Fred followed.
"You don't know how important it has been for new inventions..."
"We never dreamed that we would be meeting the author..."
"Let alone having him praise our work!" Jack laughed. "We need to sit down." George said as they both slumped on a couch close to them.
Cassandra smiled and went to explore the shop, letting them talk about whatever they wanted alone. As she was testing a pair of glasses that had two eyes painted, a voice startled her.
"Cass, I didn't know you were here." Amy said, looking very nervous.
"Shit Amy, don't sneak up on me, I nearly died." She said and the girl offered an apologetic smile. She left the glasses where they belonged and faked interest in the things beside them. "Oh, I was just passing by and I thought Fred and George would like to see the shop..." Amy paled.
"They're here?" She asked with a whispered shriek and Cassie rolled her eyes.
"Yes, they're here. I don't know what makes you so nervous. They're super nice, I already told you." Amy looked around her and took her arm, leading her to a small room filled with boxes. She closed the door. "Umm... this is going a bit too far, don't you think?"
"Listen, Cassandra. When you admire someone so much it's easy to imagine them as being unreachable, because they are. I don't think you understand how deeply I love what they've done. It's inspiring. What they did tells me and everyone else out there who might think that they can't get what they want that if you pour your soul into something you love and you work hard enough, you can get it. They've done so much for me without even knowing it that I can't stand to be near them because it becomes unbearable. I don't know how to thank them without making them think that I'm completely crazy!" She finished, out of breath. Cassandra gaped at her in surprise.
"Holy fucking shit. I didn't know you felt that way, I'm sorry." She said, shaking her head. "But I promise, they are amazing. If you don't know them you can probably think that they're full of it, but they're not. They are actually humble, even if they don't act like it, and I strongly believe that they would receive your compliments with open arms. You just need to be calm about it, don't expect them to make you feel bad. If they see you're feeling uncomfortable, all they'll try to do is make you feel better." Amy breathed and nodded.
"Yeah... thank you Cass." She said before hugging her.
"Now let's get out of here before they think we were making out." Amy laughed and opened the door, only to find Fred and George with arms crossed waiting outside.
"What were you doing there?" Fred asked with an eyebrow raised. Both girls looked at each other before answering at the same time.
"Making out."
"I really don't want to do this." Cassandra said, looking at herself in the mirror.
Behind her, two faces looked at her. One belonged to Amy, the other to Steve.
"We'll all look the same, at least you won't stand out." Steve tried to reason. She huffed.
"Yeah... that actually helped. Thank you." She said and he smiled.
"Everyone is waiting downstairs for you so I think we should go. We'll see you there." Amy said giving her a thumbs up and Steve nodded, before they both apparated from her room.
She sighed and made her way downstairs, slowly.
"Kill me now please." She said as she appeared on her full purple glory. She could hear one or two stifled laughs, but most of them were silent.
"It looks great!" Fred and George said, bright smiles on their faces.
"That's not the world I'd use." She answered dryly.
"You are the hottest girl in town, love. If I were a guy I'd be wanting to rip that sexy tunic out of you with my teeth." Rosa, her best friend from Brazil, said with a wink.
"Shut it, Rosa. Or I will be ripping something of yours with my teeth and it won't be any clothing." Cassandra replied with a sneer.
"It's kinda irritating not knowing what they're saying, isn't it?" Fred whispered to George, who nodded.
"Don't forget I can understand every word you say, and I must add that this conversation is making me rather uncomfortable." Severus said appearing on the room, his voice and expression as stoic as ever. Rosa blushed and looked mortified.
"Sorry, Severus." She said with a smile and a very thick accent. He didn't answer but the corners of his lips curled up just a bit.
"Let's go and get this over with." Cassandra said. "Come on you two." She told Fred and George. "You're coming with me."
A big stage and dozens of chairs were prepared on the school grounds once they got there. Fred and George were amazed by the beauty of the building. There was no comparison point with Hogwarts, because they were so different. Hogwarts was a castle, with high ceilings and towers, whereas this building had no more than three floors, and no towers whatsoever. The walls were painted grey, and the grounds were perfectly kept.
Hogwarts was beautifully ancient, this was, for lack of a better word, modern. So, Cassandra had been right on her letters.
"So, what do you think?" She asked with a smile.
"It's amazing." They both said and she beamed.
"After we're done with this I'll give you a tour." They nodded and smiled. "Oh my God, there he is!" She said waving at someone on the group of students several feet away from them. "Come on!" she grabbed both of their hands and started dragging them along. "I can't wait to introduce you to Steve!" She said excitedly and George smirked at his twin, who frowned deeply.
"Bloody amazing." He whispered. Cassandra let go of their hands to walk ahead, leaving them alone while she looked for him.
"If you get just a little more jealous she's gonna notice." George teased.
"I'm not jealous." Fred snapped.
"No, you're not. He's just her friend, mate. And he likes men. That should be enough for you to back off a bit."
"That's not..." Fred began to say but closed his mouth, his lips forming a thin line. What's the point of lying, he knows already. "It's always Steve this, Steve that, ohh, Steve is so amazing! Steve is so funny!" He finished with a lame girly voice. George laughed out loud.
"You're scared that she values their friendship more than yours." He said with a roll of his eyes. "You know she loves you, alright? I don't think she loves him more than she loves you." Fred sighed.
"Yeah, thanks." He said, rubbing her eyes. Cassandra appeared again from the crowd, hand in hand with a boy.
Fuck. Fred thought. On his mind, he had built an entire human being based on his dislike towards the boy, and he was taken aback by how different he was in real life. Of course he wasn't expecting him to be like he had thought but maybe...
No. He was... perfect. Absolutely perfect. When people said "every girls' dream" they should know that they were talking about this guy.
Tall, athletic, deep blue eyes and brown messy hair. Perfect smile. He was sure that if he found a flaw on him, he'd have to get some sort of prize.
His blood boiled. How could she not like him? How could she not fall in love with him? The fact that he's gay does not affect her feelings towards men. I should've known.
Cassandra's face was lit up with a wide smile.
"Guys..." she said, barely containing the excitement on her voice. "This is Steve. Steve, Fred and George." Steve smiled brightly and Fred wanted to punch him square in the face.
"How you doing, mate?" George asked nicely, shaking his hand.
"I've heard so much about you, I can't believe I'm finally meeting you." He said with a deep voice. What have I done to deserve this? Fred thought. He swallowed his pride and gave him a smile, shaking his hand too. "This is amazing. really. She told me all about you." He looked like he was struggling with his words. "I just... I think it's amazing what you've done, you're so young, it's... encouraging." He scratched the back of his neck. "Sorry, I must be making you feel uncomfortable. I'll shut up now." He finished with a laugh.
Stop being nice. Stop being nice. Be a dick, you'd make this so much easier. Fred's mind complained. I can't do this.
"Nah, don't worry." He said, shrugging his shoulders. "She told us all about you as well. It's amazing to finally meet the famous Steve." Steve blushed and Cassandra poked his side.
"Told ya." She said to him and hugged his middle. Fred resisted the urge to frown. "Come on, I'll tell you were you're sitting." She said and started walking. They followed her to a row of seats where Rosa was sitting next to Juliana, waving happily.
"I thought your dad was coming?" George asked, confused.
"Oh, he's there." She said pointing next to her mother. "Perception spell." She whispered. He looked again and saw that he indeed was there, sitting with an indifferent expression on his face. "Go, we have to get ready." She said, pushing them forward.
Fred sat beside Rosa, who had a big camera on her hands and was shaking from happiness.
"Oh, I'm so excited." She told him and he was barely able to make out her words. "Aren't you? Look at her, she looks so nice there." She said as she took a picture.
"Yeah, she does." He answered absent-mindedly. "Why is she up there, though? The others are sitting there." He asked, pointing to the front rows.
"They are... um... acknowledging her? Is that the word? Because she is a foreign student and she had... high grades on her exams." His mouth formed an o and he nodded.
"And what is... Steve doing there?" He asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"He's the valedictorian." At Fred's confused expression, Rosa elaborated. "He's the one making the... goodbye speech, the best student."
"Oh." He said crossing his arms, sullenly. Rosa didn't notice because she was too busy taking pictures.
Cassandra walked to them, diploma on her hand and gown open on the front, and hugged Severus tightly. She buried her face on his chest and he whispered words on her ear. No one knew what he was saying, but she was nodding.
Juliana was next, her eyes filled with unshed tears.
"Mom, don't cry." She said and hugged her.
"I'm just so proud of you." She said with a happy sob and Cassandra laughed.
Rosa was next, and practically jumped on her to give her a hug. She kissed her cheek loudly and spoke too fast to anyone apart from Cassandra and Juliana to understand.
And finally, Fred and George. She walked to them, smiling awkwardly and they both enveloped her in a tight embrace.
"Look at you," George began.
"All grown up." Fred finished. She laughed.
"We're proud. You did great." They said at the same time.
"Thank you guys." She said as they pulled apart. She took her gown out completely. "Why don't I give you a school tour now?" She asked and they nodded. "Okay." She turned to her parents. They nodded.
"We're going to go home, we'll wait for you there." She smiled and they started to walk towards the school entrance.
"Okay, let's go." She said but stopped when she saw the gown on her hands. "Wait, I'll give this to my mom. Be right back." Fred, George and Rosa nodded and watched her run to where her parents were. Her mother took the violet clothing from her hands with a smile, and when she was about to leave, they all saw her father grimacing in pain, his hand going instinctively to cover his left forearm.
"No." Rosa said, her cheery voice now lost and replaced by a dark tone.
They looked at Cassandra and Juliana, their faces white, while Cassandra was shaking her head madly, and was starting to cry. Severus kissed Juliana briefly and hugged his daughter for a few seconds giving her a fast kiss on the forehead, before releasing himself from her arms and disapparating on the spot.
Cassandra's arm was extended, as if she was still trying to stop him from leaving, frozen on the spot. They could see her shaking badly, her mother trying to comfort her. Rosa ran fast to where she was and enveloped her in a hug, talking into her ear and caressing her hair while she cried.
The twins were still too shocked to even try to move.
Until that moment, deep inside they hadn't truly believed in Snape, and what he was doing for the Order. It wasn't hard to doubt him, always so stern and angry, looking like he would rather be killing something instead of being there.
But no. It wasn't like that, and experiencing it first hand was something they didn't want to repeat ever again.
They feet moved to their own accord, directly to where she was. Juliana saw them coming first, and recomposed herself before talking.
"I think we should go." She said sternly. They both nodded. "You'll come with me, Rosa you take Cassandra. She's in no state for travelling by herself." Rosa nodded and vanished. "Come on." She said extending her hands to the twins, who took them without hesitating.
"She's feeling a bit better now." Juliana said tiredly as she came down the stairs. The twins were sitting on the couch, fidgeting.
"Can we see her?" Fred asked, worried.
"I don't think that's the best idea. She's not used to you both being here when this happens... I don't think she can take you seeing her on that state. Rosa is with her now. It's getting late, maybe you should just go home." She said, slumping on a chair.
"No way, we're staying." George said and they heard a knock on the door. Juliana got up to open it, and Steve's panicked face appeared on the doorway.
"I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner," he sad quickly, getting inside without permission. "I couldn't leave without my family asking where the hell I was going. Is she on her room?" Juliana nodded and he ran upstairs.
"I'm sorry," Fred said standing up, anger clear on his voice. "But how come he gets to see her and we don't? And he knows?" He was nearly screaming by now. George grabbed his arm and forced him to sit down again.
"Calm down." He said dangerously. "It's not the time or the place for doing this. Show some respect."
Juliana sighed again, rubbing her eyes, and sat on the table in front of them. Fred had his arms crossed, stubbornly.
"Fred, look. I'm sorry. I know you think you've seen her at her worst, because I know she has cried with you." She said, her tone sweet and soft. "But you haven't. We don't know when he will be coming back. Or in what state he will be in. From the times he leaves until he returns, it's agony for us. I apologize in advance, but I don't think you are able to take it yet. And Steve... well, he's been with her on this for months now. She told him everything after New Year. He's great for her." Fred clenched his jaw.
"He's gay." He blurted out and George hit him on the back of his had roughly. Juliana narrowed her eyes.
"I am aware of that, I didn't say they should get married, I said he's great for her. And he is. So are you. But I know you're not ready for facing this. You will be eventually but... not now." Fred relaxed.
"I'm sorry. I was an idiot." He said and Juliana shrugged.
"Don't worry." She said looking at her watch. "You were supposed to be back an hour ago."
"We're not..." Fred began but George interrupted him.
"Yes, we were. We should get going. Can you tell her that we hope everything works out well? And please make sure she sends a letter. We can find a way... maybe someone can travel or..." Juliana cut him off with a sad smile.
"Don't worry. I'll tell her. Tonks will be coming soon, so that's settled. I'll make sure she writes you." They smiled and nodded.
"I really hope everything works out well." George said to her as they walked to their backyard.
"Thank you, kids. You're really good. I'm glad Cassandra has you." Juliana said, her voice on the verge of breaking. "Be safe." She said as a small stone floated in front of them. They nodded and disappeared the moment their fingers made contact with it.